Mary Queen of Scots explores the turbulent life of the charismatic Mary Stuart. Queen of France at 16 and widowed at 18, Mary defies pressure to remarry. Instead, she returns to her native Scotland to reclaim her rightful throne. But Scotland and England fall under the rule of the compelling Elizabeth I. Each young Queen beholds her "sister" in fear and fascination. Rivals in power and in love, and female regents in a masculine world, the two must decide how to play the game of marriage versus independence. Determined to rule as much more than a figurehead, Mary asserts her claim to the English throne, threatening Elizabeth's sovereignty. Betrayal, rebellion, and conspiracies within each court imperil both thrones - and change the course of history.
Written by
Focus Features
Plot Synopsis:
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In 1561, Mary (Saoirse Ronan), Queen of Scotland, returns from France to her half-brother the Earl of Moray's (James McArdle) home in Scotland after her husband's death. In England, her cousin, Elizabeth (Margot Robbie) is the Queen of England - she is unmarried and has been unable to produce an heir, and is threatened by Mary's potential claim to the throne. John Knox (David Tennant), a Protestant cleric on Mary's council, is incensed about a Catholic being in charge of the country and is rude, and so Mary has him removed from the council.

Elizabeth wants to control Mary and weaken her claim to the throne and thinks the best way to do this would be to marry her to an English citizen. She is in love with Robert Dudley (Joe Alwyn) but decides to offer him to Mary. He protests, only wanting to be with her, but Elizabeth sends him anyone. However, once she meets with Dudley, Mary refuses to marry him, since he is just a citizen and not a royal - unless she is named the next in line to the English throne. Elizabeth balks but is stricken with smallpox. Hearing of her impending death, Mary agrees to marry Dudley - once she is named the successor. Elizabeth, not genuinely wanting to let Dudley go, sends Lord Darnley (Jack Lowden) to Scotland. He claims to only be there for the religious freedom, but Mary knows that can't be true. He is charming, however, and their bond grows until eventually, he proposes.

Because Jack is a lord, he actually strengthens Mary's claim to the throne, and Elizabeth's advisers tell her to put a stop to the marriage and send Dudley. Mary's council itself is also suspicious of Darnley's motives, assuming he wants to take over their country on behalf of England. The English come to Scotland and demand Darnley return to England, but Mary refuses, since she's doing as asked and marrying an Englishman. This enrages Moray, who doesn't want to go to war over his sister's passion. He leaves the council, furious.

England supports Moray in a rebellion against Mary. Mary and Darnley marry, but the next morning Mary finds him in bed with her male friend David Rizzio (Ismael Cruz Cordova). She is upset but has a rebellion to deal with. Rizzio goes to Mary, sorry and begging for forgiveness - Mary does indeed forgive him, saying they both fell for Darnley's charms and that going forward they must be careful. Mary's forces are able to quash the rebellion, and she spares Moray's life. She then forces Darnley to have sex with her so that she can conceive an heir. When she announces her pregnancy, she declares the child the "heir to Scotland and England," which naturally greatly offends the English.

Moray meets with Darnley's father Matthew (Brendan Coyle) to hatch a plan to undermine Mary. A rumor starts that David is actually the father of Mary's child and that she is an adulterer, which gives Knox fuel to preach to the Scottish that Mary is an evil woman. The under-miners meet with Darnley, telling him he needs to sign the bond of their plan to remove Rizzio. He refuses, but his father warns him that in the public perception either he is the adulterer or Mary is - and this way no one needs to know of his homosexuality. He reluctantly signs. Mary, her handmaids, and Rizzio are playing games upstairs when the men burst in to execute Rizzio. Mary physically stands in the way but is unable to stop them as they stab Rizzio over and over, to her horror. Matthew insists Darnley deliver the killing blow.

The men bring Moray back into the fold, and they demand pardons for all the rebels. Mary wants to know if Darnley knew of the plot and they tell her he signed a bond. She agrees to the pardon if they can prove Darnley knew, and they agree. She makes peace with Moray and wants him to be an uncle to her child. She writes Elizabeth, asking her to be the godmother. They strike a deal: if Elizabeth has children, they will be heirs to the throne, but if not, it will be Mary's child - much to the chagrin of Elizabeth's council. Mary confronts Darnley with his signature and banishes him from her sight. He is angry, wanting to be with his child, but she tells him he's lucky to keep his life. Mary's council begs her to divorce him, claiming he still plots to take the throne, but she refuses to be a Queen who keeps getting married over and over. The council approaches Bothwell (Martin Compston) an advisor and protector of Mary's, and they all arrange to have Darnley killed.

In the ensuing melee after Darnley's death, Mary is forced to leave her child with the handmaids and flee. The very next day, Bothwell tells her that the council says she needs to marry a Scotsman as soon as possible and they've decided on him. Mary doesn't want to, but faced with seemingly no choice, she goes through with it. This gives Knox more fuel to preach that Mary is a harlot and that she had Darnley killed herself. Moray and other advisers tell Mary she must abdicate and that the country doesn't trust her. Bothwell is furious, but Mary tells him he's a fool - this was their plan all along to remove her. Moray begs her to abdicate so they can be a family. Mary says he's holding her son hostage, and that they are no longer family. She refuses to abdicate.

Elizabeth is sad to hear of what has been happening, and the two cousins arrange a clandestine meeting. Elizabeth tells Mary no one can know of the meeting. Mary asks for help getting her throne back, but Elizabeth tells her she cannot go to war on a Catholic's behalf. Mary offers to kneel but Elizabeth sadly still refuses but says that she is safe in England. Elizabeth tells Mary as long as she does not aid her enemies, she will be unharmed. Mary says if she does so, it will only be because Elizabeth pushed her there, and if she murders her, she murders her own sister. Elizabeth orders Mary imprisoned away in England.

A few years later, Elizabeth receives evidence that indicates Mary conspired with her enemies to kill her. She doesn't know if it's true but has no choice but to act, and orders Mary's execution. Elizabeth cries for Mary, and Mary is walked to her execution and reveals a bright red dress. In her last thoughts, she wishes her son James well and hopes for peace upon his reign.

Post-script tells us that upon Elizabeth's death in 1603, James became the first monarch to rule England and Scotland.

Both Saoirse Ronan and Margot Robbie rehearsed separately. Their scenes were filmed separately, Robbie's being completed the very day Ronan began hers. The first time that both actresses actually saw each other in character was during the pivotal scene where both met for the first time.
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This is the second time that Saoirse Ronan and Vanessa Redgrave were cast as the same characters on screen. Vanessa Redgrave played Mary Stuart in ''Mary Queen of Scots'' (1971). She also played the older Briony Tallis in ''Atonement'' (2007); Saoirse Ronan played the younger Briony.
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Saoirse Ronan and Margot Robbie competed together in 2018 for many Best Actress awards, including the Academy Award, for their roles in Lady Bird (2017) and I, Tonya (2017), respectively.
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In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, director Josie Rourke said that the meeting of the two Queens was also inspired by the 19th-century Friedrich Schiller play ''Maria Stuart'', in which Mary and Elizabeth talk face-to-face on stage. "The whole conception of the film for me was around that meeting.'' "We really wanted to have our version of that famous scene, with these two women looking at each other and being confronted with their choices - their personal choices, their political choices. It's a moment that's deeply personal."
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The film is based on biography "Queen of Scots: The True Life of Mary Stuart."
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Saoirse Ronan was trained to ride for the first time by horsemaster Camilla Naprous who had earlier worked with Gal Gadot for her role as Wonder Woman (2017), using the very same horse named Prince.
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At one point in 2006, Scarlett Johansson was attached to play the lead role, but dropped out, causing the project to live in development hell for several years.
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The film is based on Dr. John Guy's biography "Queen of Scots: The True Life of Mary Stuart", and centers around the theory that the two may have met, and looked each other in the eye as they contemplated their kingdoms' fates. History buffs have objected to Guy's theory that the two met up. Guy told Deadline Hollywood that six years ago, "an auction house possessed documents that indicated the two complicit, yet warring cousins, had a meeting that was in the cards."
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Margot Robbie is the second Australian actress to portray Queen Elizabeth I. The first was Cate Blanchett in "Elizabeth" (1998) and "Elizabeth: The Golden Age" (2007).
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Margot Robbie was initially reluctant to accept the role of Queen Elizabeth, but after receiving a letter from director Josie Rourke about why she envisions her in the role, she accepted.
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In August 2012, it was announced that Saoirse Ronan would play Mary Stuart. On 21 April 2017, Margot Robbie entered negotiations to play Queen Elizabeth I.
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David Tennant appears in this film, which also features Elizabeth I. Previously, Tennant starred in the Doctor Who 50th Anniversary "The Day of the Doctor", which showed the Tenth Doctor having a romantic relationship with Queen Elizabeth I whom he married.
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The crew on the film includes Academy Award winners costume designer Alexandra Byrne, hair and make-up designer Jenny Shircore and editor Chris Dickens; Emmy award-winning production designer James Merifield; and BAFTA award-winning director of photography John Mathieson.
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Joe Alwyn who plays Queen Elizabeth's reputed lover Robert Dudley also is in the movie The Favourite about Queen Anne's attachment to Sarah Churchill and Abigail Masham. In The Favourite, he plays Abigail Masham's husband.
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German-Romanian actress Maria-Victoria Dragus' English-language debut.
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Susanne Bier was originally attached to direct, but dropped out due to scheduling.
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On 15 November 2018, the film had its world premiere on closing night of AFI.
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Saoirse Ronan and Eileen O'Higgins appeared in Brooklyn (2015) together.
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In December 2016, it was announced that Josie Rourke would direct.
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Joe Alwyn and Ismael Cruz Cordova previously appeared together in Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk (2016) as fellow soldiers.
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Reunites Saoirse Ronan with Guy Pearce after Death Defying Acts (2007).
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When Mary's execution is shown with her real hair. However in real life after her execution the executioner held up her head and it rolled away from him because she had a red wig covering her gray hair.
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Mary Queen of Scots would not have spoken English, as lowland Scots spoke 'Scots' and Highland Scots spoke 'Scottish Gaelic'. Additionally, she would not have had a Scottish accent, as her mother, Mary of Guise, was French. Queen Mary also lived in France from the time she was five until she was eighteen. She likely spoke with a French accent.
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In real life Mary and Elizabeth never actually met face to face.
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Several shots of large houses and castles show lawns that are immaculate and obviously mowed by modern machine and fertilized with modern methods for uniformity of color. The technology available in the 1570s and 1580s could not have yielded such greenery.
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The movie spans about sixteen years. With the notable exception of Queen Elizabeth who is seen to suffer from a severe skin problem which gradually improves, the main characters do not seem to age during the sixteen years. They do not grow gray hairs, gain or lose weight, have changed hairlines or appear to walk with any less agility.
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When Mary gets undressed for the night her hair-ornament and hairpieces are removed and locks hang down her face. The next moment, when she sits on her bed and chats to her maids, her hair is tied back from her face. In the next shot her locks are tumbling down her face again.
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At the end of the film, Elizabeth's title is stated as queen of 'England and Wales'. This title was never used by any English monarch, as Wales was never an autonomous kingdom of its own. Alternatively, Elizabeth I would have claimed the title 'Queen of England, France, and Ireland, Defender of the Faith'.
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John Knox, Minister within the Church of Scotland, is portrayed periodically throughout the film as a vocal opponent of Queen Mary, even sitting in her privy council early in the film. Historically he had no presence in Mary's court, and never had any official position within her government, as the Church of Scotland became formally independent from the Scottish Crown a generation prior, under the reign of James V.
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Mary, Queen of Scots issues a pardon to Henry, Lord Darnley for his part in the plot to kill David Rizzio. No such pardon was ever issued by the queen, as Darnley was never indicted in this plot.
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The film contends that Henry, Lord Darnley had the ambition to attain the title of king and legal sovereignty after marrying his wife, Mary, Queen of Scots. In fact, he was already granted this title in July of 1565, prior to marrying Mary, and had no need to contest this with the nobility.
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The film depicts Mary as being fairly young at the time of her death. In reality, she was in her mid forties when she was executed.
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Towards the end of the film, John Knox admonishes the queen for taking a third husband and murdering Lord Darnley. Knox did makes these claims against Mary, but not until after she abdicated and was imprisoned in England. Denouncing her while she reigned would have been an act of treason.
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The film portrays David Rizzio, the private secretary of Queen Mary I, as being murdered by the order and consent of Henry, Lord Darnley. This murder did take place, but Lord Darnley had no involvement with the affair. Patrick Ruthven is widely agreed to have been the architect of the murder of Rizzio.
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